Joe

What’s missing?

Colleges and Universities. They have land, empty dorms to be converted.

The Connected Communities The Connected Communities are a plan for a community of services, value-based care options and affordable residential life for older adults and people living with disabilities.

www.theconnectedcommunities.org

Health Care Groups Aim To Counter Growing ‘National Scandal’ of Elder Homelessness - KFF Health News The housing crisis is requiring creative scrambling and new partnerships from health care organizations to keep older patients out of expensive nursing homes as homelessness grows.

This + co-operative, community-grounded models of ownership and collaboration + braided public & private investment in multigenerational housing with services = Connected Communities

Map of 37th PA State Senate in western part of Allegheny, PA The blue shaded area covers about 1/3rd of Allegheny

Pink area of map shows where ACCESS van (para transit) access will be limited if transit cuts go thru

Virtually all of State Sen. Devlin Robinson’s (R) 37th district will see cuts to ACCESS (paratransit). How many older adults will it impact in the municipalities of his district?

How many veterans receiving HCBS will be harmed when their caregivers can no longer get to them due to bus route cuts?

Breakout of traffic sources to ACASignups.net by month

Last week I posted a short thread about social media traffic/engagement and how @bsky.app has skyrocketed to driving a significant chunk of traffic to ACASignups.net in less than a year.

Here's an updated visualization of how dramatic the fall of Twitter/X & the rise of Bluesky has been over time:

The Labor Department has suddenly stopped funding a senior job training program | CNN Business Goodwill, Easterseals and other nonprofit organizations say thousands of low-income seniors could soon be unemployed because funding hasn’t come through for a decades-old federal job training and plac...

The Urban League in Pittsburgh let go of seniors employed through the SCSEP program yesterday

www.cnn.com/2025/07/29/e...

Healthcare Program Enrollment by U.S. Congressional District

A reminder that I've completely updated my main House District healthcare enrollment spreadsheet.

You can quickly look up total estimated enrollment in ACA exchange plans, Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare, Employer/Other coverage & Uninsured for all 435 House districts + DC

docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

The Limited Role of Alzheimer Disease Blood-Based Biomarkers in Primary Care This Viewpoint examines the use of blood-based biomarkers to test for Alzheimer disease and outlines why they should not be the first or only tool used in screening for cognitive impairment.

Misplaced keys? Forgotten grocery items? Is it more than normal aging that merits an #Alzheimer biomarker for brain amyloid?

Our editorial argues that we should be wary of the marketing push for the use of blood based biomarkers in primary care. #medsky #Alz

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Ah, public lobbying against Medicaid cuts by the behemoth health care groups (AMA, AHA, AHIP) on seems starting — just noticed that Politico Pulse was sponsored all week by AHA, with this message

Medicaid Cuts Would Threaten Rural Hospitals 190 rural hospitals in 34 Medicaid expansion states are at immediate risk of closure. Slashing Medicaid could push them over the edge.

Rural health was already precarious and these cuts will further erode care.

Medicaid Cuts Would Threaten Rural Hospitals www.americanprogress.org/article/medi... by @kierrajones.bsky.social @nzmurphy.bsky.social @andreaducas.bsky.social @jillrose.bsky.social via @americanprogress.bsky.social

U.S. Dementia Costs to Exceed $780 Billion This Year, USC-Led Research Finds A multidisciplinary dementia cost project led by USC provides updated estimates of the financial toll on patients, care partners and society.

What are the local costs of dementia, the Pittsburgh MSA?

Data-Driven, Interactive Map Shows Local Economic Impact of Cuts to Federal Funding for Health Research

Researchers at Annenberg and @umdscience.bsky.social show that proposed NIH funding cuts lead to an estimated $16 billion in economic loss and 68,000 jobs lost nationwide. Learn about their project and view the interactive map here:

Western PA will lose $313 million: Allegheny County $259 million; Westmorland County $20 million; Beaver County $12 million; Butler and Washington Counties $11 million each.

Less use of the Emergency Room = better health.

New @commonwealthfund.org estimates from GW researchers on economic impact of $880 billion in #Medicaid cuts. Includes single-year state-by-state effects on economic activity, job losses and state tax revenues: Also includes impact of SNAP cuts. www.commonwealthfund.org/publications...

It’s not just that we should stop cuts for Medicaid that pay for billionaires’ tax cut.

It’s also that we should be taxing billionaires to expand Medicaid.

#PA17 Christopher Deluzio (D) ~4% of total population in #ACA exchange plans ~18% of total population in #Medicaid/CHIP ~25% of total population in #Medicare

#PA17 Christopher Deluzio (D)
@deluzio.house.gov

~4% of total population in #ACA exchange plans
~18% of total population in #Medicaid/CHIP
~25% of total population in #Medicare

Pie Charts Galore! Medicaid, CHIP, ACA & Medicare enrollment by Congressional District NOTE: This is a work in progress. Check back soon as I'm adding more states every day. Over the past couple of months I've compiled a master spreadsheet breaking out enrollment in ACA plans (Qualified...

📣 OK, everyone: I've burned through Indiana, Iowa, Kansas & Kentucky today.

I'm about 40% of the way done (176 districts down, 260 left to go).

As a reminder, sources & methodology are linked here. Shout-out to @kff.org & @centeronbudget.bsky.social for much of it.

acasignups.net/program-enro...

State and local leaders mobilize to support laid off workers to move to communities that can thrive with more good people. Good Guy Billionaires should fund 2 year stipends.

Not just shark tank standing up companies, but invest in whole communities.

KFF’s Health Policy 101 is a comprehensive resource for those interested in learning more about U.S. health policy.

Our newest chapter explores functions and history of public health, examines how public health is governed and delivered in the U.S., and more: on.kff.org/3QJy5nM

How much was being spent on the 5800 contracts?

In PA, it’s HealthChoices for managed physical health, & Community HealthChoices (CHC) for managed long-term services and supports (MLTSS) - pays for nursing home & home care provided by Personal Care Assistants, distinct from (mostly Medicare) home health (nursing + home health aides)

Thousands in Midwestern GOP Districts Attend Sanders' First Stops on Tour to Fight Oligarchy | Common Dreams Senator Bernie Sanders is on a mission to fight oligarchy and empower the people. With a powerful message against Trumpism and billionaire influence, he's rallying Americans to stand up for democracy....

This is really smart by @sanders.senate.gov Go to republican districts and push voters to pressure their republican reps.

www.commondreams.org/news/bernie-...

Fed worker firings, funding freeze, NIH cuts, potential Medicaid cuts, and on will deeply damage PA from cities to rural areas.

Yet defeaning silence from state/local chambers and other biz advocates in Pennsylvania on these potentially catastrophic Trump-Musk-GOP attacks on local economies.

🤔

My dad did all that a good citizen should do. He served in Korea, worked for 60+ years, raised kids who loved the US. Unfortunately, he outlived his resources, so when he had to move to a memory care facility at 93, Medicaid & this country stepped up.

Hands Off My Medicaid

The effect of race on recommendations of cardiac catheterization - Black patients less likely to be recommended for catheterization given equivalent situations.

Dr. David Williams talking about study after study that shows the impact of racism on healthcare and medical decision-making.

Doctors, are you really going to stop talking about this?

Policy Visit the post for more.

Southwestern PA County-specific Medicaid fact sheets focused on eldercare and people living with disabilities (10 counties) www.swppa.org/policy/

Reminder: If 230,000 more folks had simply voted for the black lady we’d all be arguing about the best way to get the Senate to vote to add long-term care to Medicare coverage right now.

I just lost my job, along with most of my coworkers, due to the illegal grant freeze.
I worked at an organization that
-helped veterans who have lost a limb
-Assisted elderly and disabled people
-Helped hospitals better treat people who have lost limbs

PA County data for Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) known as Community HealthChoices (CHC) in PA: www.pa.gov/content/dam/...